Eight collections of the Lincoln Museum

(0

EIGHT COLLECTIONS OF THE
LINCOLN MUSEUM

LINCOLN HISTORICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION

DR. LOUIS A. WARREN, DIRECTOR

MURRAY E. SCHLINTZ. LIBRARIAN

ETHEL V. HENNEFORD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

'•LINCOLN LORE"

Executive 's Col lectio//

For many years officials of the Lincoln
National Life Insurance Company have
been gathering items associated with and
referring to Abraham Lincoln. The
famous Brady photograph of the presi-
dent, which was presented to Mr. Arthur
F. Hall at the time he organized the
company twenty-five years ago, formed
the nucleus of the collection. Such items
as the original Pickett bronze, a replica
of the Lincoln bust by Yolk, also many
portraits and curios have been gathered
during the life of the organization. The

presence of these rare and valuable items
encouraged the establishment of the
present museum.

Foundation Collection

Eecently a systematic and a concerted
effort has been made to build up an
outstanding collection of Lincolniana.
Many valuable items, such as Lincoln
letters, rare broadsides, medals and much
current literature, have been secured,
augmenting greatly the memorials gath-
ered in years. Representatives of the
company out in the field have supple-
mented the contributions made by the
home office force.

Daniel Fish Collection

This collection of Lincoln literature
gathered over a period of a great many
years by Judge Fish and undisturbed
since his death in 1924 need not be
described to Lincoln admirers. Fish was
one of the original ' ' Big Five ' ' Lincoln
collectors and the first bibliographer to
publish an exhaustive list of Lincoln
publications. It is needless to say that
his collection up to the time of the
publication of his work in 1906 was as
complete as he could make it.

Albert H . Griffith Collection

Another library, not so well known,
but in some respects a more remarkable
collection that the one gathered by Daniel
Fish, was purchased from Albert H.
Griffith, of Fisk, Wisconsin.

One of the features of the Griffith
collection is the enormous amount of
periodicals it includes. The newspapers
and magazines containing Lincoln discus-
sions literally run into tons. Hundreds
of programs, catalogs, broadsides ; in
fact, everything that in any way related
to Lincoln was eagerly sought by Mr.
Griffith.

Thompson Collection

In the spring of 1928 the foundation
purchased the Richard Thompson col-
lection of manuscripts consisting of some
Lincoln letters and valuable correspond-
ence contemporaneous with Lincoln 's term
in Congress and his years as president.
There are more than 2,000 manuscripts
in this collection.

Hitchcock Collection

The Hanks papers, including 1,200
genealogical lists of Hanks families and
hundreds of letters and records of the

family were brought together thirty years
ago by Mrs. Caroline Hanks Hitchcock.
This is by far the largest collection of
Hanks papers and pictures extant.

Helm- Hay era ft Collection

The early Kentucky manuscripts in the
Helm-Haycraft collection, about 2,000 in
number, were gathered over 100 years
ago by John Helm, the surveyor, and
8amuel Haycraft, the historian, in the
communities where Lincoln 's - parents
lived.

These old records provide a document-
ary background for the activities of
Thomas Lincoln and his neighbors.

Warren Collection

The Warren collection of Lincoln
source material represents the personal
efforts put forth, over a period of ten
years, by the director of the foundation,
in the county court houses of Virginia,
Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, where
thousands of records bearing on the
Lincoln and cognate families were copied.

ENDOWED BY

THE LINCOLN
NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY

7/ ZOOS. 08<i.O(tZ£>Z